


Surprise Proposal

by Gemini_Sweet



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 23:51:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17069570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gemini_Sweet/pseuds/Gemini_Sweet





	Surprise Proposal

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PyrrhicWriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PyrrhicWriter/gifts).



“No peeking.”

“I’m not.”

“I’m serious.”

“I’m not peeking!”

Asami held up a hand in front of the Water Tribe woman with a folded blue handkerchief tied around her eyes. She held up only her index and pinky fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“I don’t know,” Korra huffed, shrugging as she folded her arms. “’Cuz I can’t see.”

“Okay,” Asami said, grasping a well-defined bicep to guide the shorter woman. Korra automatically placed her opposite hand on top of Asami’s. “Here we go.”

The two women slowly made their way through the parking lot, Asami’s heels crunching in the asphalt. Korra’s boat shoes made less noise as she confidently strolled alongside the taller woman, a content smile on her face.

Korra had just returned that week from a security detail in the Earth Kingdom. Although she was no longer an active member of the United Forces, something still pulled her back into combat zones. Fortunately, after months of therapy and some negotiating with her father, Asami was able to offer her (at the time) best friend a job providing security for Future Industries in the often-unstable Earth Kingdom.

They were still best friends, but last winter solstice they became so much more.

***

_“We’ve been cleared for landing. Please fasten your seatbelts.”_

_Korra grinned at Asami, her eyes as blue as the sky outside of the airplane window. Asami grinned in return, unable to resist the urge to touch her best friend. She placed a hand on a solid shoulder and squeezed, before glancing around the berth to see if the rest of “Team Korra” had followed direction. Mako raised an eyebrow at her, which she pointedly ignored._

_“I can’t wait for the festival! Arctic hen on a stick; Candied tiger-seal jerky on a stick; Sweet-tea sea prunes on a stick.”_

_“Sweet-tea sea prunes?” Opal wrinkled her nose. It was her first time traveling with them to the Southern Water Tribe for the solstice. She and Bolin had been dating for nearly two years. His brother, Mako, Korra and Asami all adored her._

_“On a stick!” Bolin rubbed his belly. A furry red head poked out of his shirt with a squeak._

_“How can you even think about food?” Mako asked. “You haven’t stopped eating since we got on the plane.”_

_Asami and Korra exchanged glances as the plane began its descent. She tried not to blush as Korra grabbed her hand and interlaced their fingers._

_“Look at the lights,” Korra murmured as she stared out of the window. “Isn’t it beautiful?”_

_“Yeah,” Asami sighed, staring at the side of Korra’s face. “Beautiful.”_

_They landed at the small airport without issue. Everyone bundled up to make the walk from the plane to the main terminal. Their pilots were native Southerners and were eager to enjoy a paid vacation with their families. Asami wished them a happy solstice and they parted ways for the week._

_After bear hugs from Tonraq and cheek kisses from Korra’s mother, Senna, they’d piled selves and luggage into the eight-passenger SatoRover and headed to the little house on the tundra. The festival was in two days, but Senna already had a huge spread of traditional foods on the table. After hours of eating and talking and laughing until Asami was certain she was losing her voice, Korra had announced she was going to bed._

_Asami had followed her to bed an hour or so later to find the former soldier awake and leaning against the wall, staring out of the window._

_“It’s snowing,” Korra said in response to Asami’s raised eyebrow._

_Sure enough, thick flakes were drifting out of the sky to land on top of hills of white. The shadows were blue under the moonlight._

_“I can’t dance with the Spirits,” Korra said._

_Asami met her gaze. It was Water Tribe belief that the winter solstice was when the barrier between the spiritual and physical worlds was weakest. They believed their souls could dance with the spirits in the night sky, but only if their conscience was clear and their debts paid so that they weren’t weighed down with worldly burdens._

_“Korra, we’ve been over this.” Asami smiled and put her hand on her best friend’s arm. “You don’t owe me anything.”_

_“I owe you everything, Asami.” Korra took her hand in two brown ones. “No matter what has happened, no matter how bad things have been, you’ve always been there for me. And my family. I can’t possibly repay you. That’s why-” She swallowed and sighed. “That’s why I’ve been so afraid to say this. But, if I don’t say this, I think I might explode.”_

_“Korra….”_

_“I love you, Asami. As more than just a friend, or even a best friend. I-I … I love you so much it hurts. I want to be your girlfriend. I want….” Korra sighed. “I know I don’t have much to offer, but- mmph…!”_

_When Asami finally let them breathe, she grinned down at her now-girlfriend. Korra’s face was streaked with tears and a goofy, lopsided grin. “I love you, too.”_

***

It was early fall in Republic City. A chilly breeze caused Asami to shiver despite her jacket and she quickened their pace toward the door. As she approached, the heavy metal door opened and Mako held it ajar so they could enter the building without difficulty. He put a finger to his lips and nodded with a smile as they passed.

The building was a small multipurpose venue in downtown Republic City. It had been many things over the years, but it was now the most popular restaurant in the city. There was no sign and no advertisement, but the waiting list was two _months_ long. It was a fusion restaurant, Water Tribe and Fire Nation, and Korra had really wanted to go when she first heard about it.

So, Asami had pulled a few strings and managed to secure the date for her proposal to her best friend and roommate since their freshman year in college.

***

_Asami huffed as she dragged two suitcases up the few steps to the first floor landing, a backpack strapped to her hunched form. Green eyes narrowed as she blew a rogue strand of wavy black hair out of her eyes._

_She couldn’t believe her father had refused to help her move into her dorm. He wouldn’t even allow the servants to help! As he was the one who actually paid their salaries, she didn’t have any authority to make them. Besides, she got the impression that they took her father’s side._

_Her long fingers stretched to grasp the handle of the stairwell door without dropping her suitcase. Republic City University might not be as prestigious as the University of Capital City or Zaofu University, but it had a decent engineering program (thanks to several donations from Future Industries over the years). Where she attended college was her decision. She was 18 after all._

_Carefully putting her toe in the gap, she managed to kick the door open wide enough to shoulder herself and her stuff through the frame. Her father had offered her several bribes to attend those other universities: a new wardrobe, a new car, her own fully furnished apartment. Anything to keep her and Mako apart._

_It was like her father had forgotten what it was like to be in love! All the stories he’d told her about meeting her mother at RCU, about how he’d known she was the one within seconds; he acted like he’d never uttered a single word. He kept telling her she didn’t know what real love was, that she shouldn’t throw away her opportunities just because of “some boy” – the same boy he’d written glowing letters of recommendation that had provided Mako and his brother full scholarships to United Academy._

_She double-checked the number above the door as she fumbled for her keys. Unable to pull them out of her pocket, she begrudgingly set a suitcase down, scraping it against the door as she did. A moment later, she yelped in surprise as the door flung open and a short, brown-skinned woman with three ponytails wrapped her in a crushing hug._

_“HI!” The woman gushed. “You’re here! I can’t believe it!”_

_“Uhhh….”_

_“Oh!” The woman stepped back, a sheepish, lopsided grin on her face as she rubbed the back of her neck. Her bicep and deltoid flexed as she did. Asami couldn’t decide whether to focus on them or those bright ocean blue eyes. “Sorry. I’m Korra.” She stuck out her hand to shake, then blinked, then grimaced. “Sorry. Here, let me.”_

_Korra picked up the suitcase off the floor and took the other suitcase out of her hand. Asami was fairly strong, but this woman’s muscles barely twitched under the weight. She stepped back into the room and Asami followed._

_“I got here three days ago. My parents just left this morning,” Korra said, placing the suitcases by the bunk bed. “My Dad and I put the beds together. I can take it down, if you don’t like it.”_

_Asami looked around the concrete box with berber carpet. The bunk beds took up one wall. A desk and chair occupied two more. “Seems efficient,” Asami said. “Let’s leave it.”_

_The Water Tribe woman grinned, and Asami’s heart skipped a beat then flipped into her throat. “Great! I can’t believe I’m roommates with the Asami Sato! I’ve watched the video of your championship fight, like, 50 gagillion times!”_

_Asami blinked. “You … saw that?”_

_“Heck yeah!” Korra helped her out of her backpack. “That sweep was perfect! You’ve gotta teach me that.”_

_A mobile phone chimed, and both women looked up at the top bunk. “Hold on a sec,” Korra said._

_Asami watched the shorter woman pull herself up onto the top bunk, back muscles rippling underneath her blue tank top. She felt the heat of a serious blush creep up her neck. “Huh,” Asami mumbled to herself. “Whaddaya know.”_

***

In that instant, Asami knew she was falling for Korra. Of course, her 18-year-old self had second-guessed her instinct (she _was_ dating a _guy_ at the time), which led to years of missed opportunities and sobbing in solitude. It wasn’t until that magical winter solstice that Korra had admitted she’d always had a crush on Asami, even before they’d met.

 Unfortunately, while Asami had thrown herself into her studies and eschewed dating after breaking up with Mako, Korra had had a string of romances – most of which ended whenever any of them showed the slightest disrespect to Asami. While they’d been blind to each other’s attraction, Korra’s suitors had seen the writing on the wall.

What no one had seen coming was Korra’s sudden decision to drop out of school and join the United Forces. Granted, she had struggled with choosing a major. Not for lack of ability, but for lack of interest. The Southerner was a jack-of-all-trades with a near photographic memory. She could easily switch topics from engineering to politics to sports. She was better than average at everything – and easily bored.

Korra wanted her life to have purpose. When the Red Lotus assassinated the Earth Queen their junior year, she felt she had to do _something_. She was already physically fit, and with her intelligence and familial political connections she’d quickly advanced.

No one knew how advanced until she suddenly went silent. No e-mails, no V-book posts, nothing. Nearly a month went by before the news broke. A UF special operatives team had captured the leader of the Red Lotus. Although the mission was a success, the team had suffered casualties. Two soldiers came home to their families in coffins. The rest had survived because Korra was willing to sacrifice herself to take Zaheer down.

Tonraq had called Asami. She could hear Senna sobbing in the background. His deep baritone cracked and hitched. Asami had sent an e-mail to her father and her secretary and was in the air on her private plane to Harbor City within the hour. Korra’s condition was too critical to transport her all the way to Republic City, so they’d flown to Zaofu and stayed with the Beifong’s.

_A hair’s breadth…. A miracle…. A fraction to either side…._ She’d almost lost Korra. In the months that followed she put her feelings aside to be there for her best friend, to give Korra the support and sometimes tough love that wounded warrior needed to push through, to get stronger. Never did she allow herself to imagine that this day would come, that she would be proposing to Korra.

The engineer was determined not to let this opportunity go to waste. Asami stopped at the door and put one hand on the door’s handle. “Okay. You can take the blindfold off now.”

Korra reached up and pushed the blue cloth off of her head. She shook her hair out of her eyes and smiled up at her girlfriend. “I smell food.”

Asami smiled as she pushed down on the handle to the door. “Not just any-”

“SURPRISE!!!!”

Asami jumped back into Korra, startled. Everyone they knew was in the room (save Mako, who was laughing in the hallway behind Korra). Tonraq gave her a thumbs up and a grin that matched Korra’s, Senna standing next to him with her hands clasped. Her father stepped from behind Tonraq with a guilty smile and a bit of cocktail sauce staining his mustache. Bolin waved frantically over Opal’s head.

Her hand over her mouth, Asami allowed herself to be guided into the small restaurant. When warm hands left her, she stopped and turned to face Korra. Smiling, Korra reached into her jeans pocket as she slowly dropped to one knee.

“Your love is my light,” Korra began. “When I was so lost and broken I couldn’t see a reason to keep breathing, you showed me the way out of my darkest times.”

Asami stood still, tears brimming, as Korra pulled a small, black velvet box out of her pocket. She watched as the love of her life fumbled and pulled out the gold ring with the small diamond in a flush setting. Beautiful, yet practical for her line of work – and nearly identical to the one in her own jacket pocket.

“Asami Sato,” Korra said, her voice raspy. She cleared her throat. “Asami Sato. My best friend. My heart. My light. My love. Will you marry me?”


End file.
